


Collateral Damage

by breeisonfire



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, Brothers, I'll figure out where I'm going with this I swear, Some Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-06-05 00:31:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6682231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breeisonfire/pseuds/breeisonfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Donnie's tired of Leo's sole hero shit, Mikey's the one everyone keeps going to talk to, Splinter tries to keep up with his kids, Casey's acting weird, and no one actually knows how to solve anything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh God I don't know where I'm going with this exactly, I just wanted to write something about someone calling Leo out on his behavior and a healing fic, I guess? Who knows, we'll find out eventually.
> 
> This takes place after the season four-midseason finale. There's just. It'll be great. I'd add more tags if I need to.
> 
> [Tumblr!](http://drdone.tumblr.com)

Donnie’s quiet as he checks Leo over. He’d insisted, since there hadn’t been any time earlier - right after Donnie had to  _ revive _ Leo, which still has Leo a little shaken - and Leo hadn’t argued. He’s tired and sore, and there’s a lingering ache in his chest. He’s not sure if it’s psychological or not, but he figures if anyone will know, it’s Donnie.

Leo watches Donnie closely as he works. He has the feeling he’s missing something, but he can’t exactly place what it is. Whatever it is, it has Donnie upset, or maybe angry; he can see it in the way Donnie’s avoiding his eyes and moving slowly, like he’s having to hold back. And Leo’s not sure what’s going on, but he should probably figure it out. Donnie doesn’t let go of things; he’ll let them eat at him until he explodes, and Leo  _ hates _ seeing him like that.

_ No time like the present. _

“Are you okay?” Leo asks cautiously. Donnie flinches for some reason, but doesn’t answer. He’s busy examining Leo’s chest, as if looking for residual damage or something. He still won’t meet Leo’s eyes and now Leo’s worried.

“Did I do something wrong?” Leo asks, and Donnie stops moving. His fists clenches for a second, then he turns back to Leo.

“Do you trust us?”

It’s so far from what Leo was expecting that he can’t do anything except stare at Donnie.

“What?” he asks, feeling totally lost.

“Do you trust us?” Donnie repeats, crossing his arms.

“Of course!” Leo says. It’s the  _ truth _ . And if Donnie’s questioning that, then Leo  _ seriously _ messed up.

Donnie looks at him for a long moment, like he doesn’t believe him, then sighs. “Then  _ why _ do you keep pulling this lone hero  _ bullshit _ ?”

Leo doesn’t know what to say to that, but it’s clear Donnie isn’t done.

“You keep doing this, with Shredder, with the brain worm, the Triceratons - you go in alone! You don’t let us help you, you don’t even  _ tell _ us what you’re doing. We’re a team, Leo. You’re our leader. But it doesn’t feel like you’ve been doing a lot of  _ leading _ lately.”

The words echo Raph’s -  _ “Leaders are called leaders because they’re supposed to  _ lead _ a team!” _ \- and Leo’s stomach drops. This is obviously something that Raph and Donnie (and maybe the others, too) agree on.

_ How long have they been holding this back? _

Donnie seems to be waiting for Leo to speak, but he doesn’t have a clue what to say.

The thing is, he’s becoming increasingly conscious of how high the stakes are, and they’re still rising. Their enemies are getting stronger, and while things have worked out so far, that won’t always be the case. He’s  _ painfully _ aware of that. And ever since he’d woken up from his coma, he hasn’t felt fit to lead. He doesn’t know what he’s doing anymore, he’s in way over his head.

He can’t let his brothers know that. But he also can’t let them get hurt or worse because of his own mistakes. He’d messed up when he’d let Mikey come along to get the brain worm. Mikey had almost  _ died _ . He couldn’t -  _ can’t _ \- take that chance again. Better him than them.

He’s almost certain that won’t help the situation. Donnie’s still staring at him, waiting for an answer that Leo doesn’t want to give. They’ll try to talk him out of it, and that can’t happen. He’s not going to change his mind. He’s not going to let them get hurt.

“I - I don’t know,” he finally says. Donnie tenses and Leo knows he didn’t fool him.

“You don’t know?” Donnie says softly. Leo winces. “You don’t  _ know _ why you’re shutting us out? Why you’re not letting us take any risks? You  _ really _ don’t know? Or do you just not trust me enough to give me a real answer?”

Donnie’s tone is bitter and angry. Leo wants to leave, or look away, but he doesn’t. That wouldn’t fix this. Not that he has any idea how to do that. His mind is racing for anything to say, some sort of excuse, but he knows that Donnie will know and take offense to being lied to. He has to tell them the truth, but maybe that will just make Donnie angrier.

In the end, he just stares at Donnie helplessly until enough time passes that Donnie snorts and turns away.

“You’ll be fine,” he says flatly. “You should rest.”

“Donnie, wait,” Leo says, but Donnie’s already turning away, heading into his lab. Leo watches him, knowing he should follow but feeling too drained to do anything about it. It’s been a long day and Leo’s exhausted.

Or at least that’s the excuse he gives himself as he heads to his bedroom, feeling heavier with every step. He’d talk to Donnie in the morning. Maybe Donnie would feel better in the morning, after they’ve all had time to relax.

Then again, maybe not.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donnie's angry and Mikey's insightful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! And that it's so short!
> 
> [Tumblr!](http://drdone.tumblr.com/)

“Why aren’t you talking to Leo?” Mikey asks, dropping heavily onto the spare desk chair in Donnie’s lab. Donnie gives him an annoyed look, but Mikey meets it with a level stare, one he’d learned and perfected during their space journey, and Donnie grimaces. Trust Mikey to notice.

“He’s a self-sacrificing idiot,” he mumbles.

“Well, _yeah_ ,” Mikey says, rolling his eyes. “But Leo’s always been that way.”

“And it’s _killing_ him!” Donnie’s voice is louder than he’d meant it to be, and Mikey’s eyes are wide. He clears his throat and says in a quieter voice, “He’s trying to carry all the weight on his own and it’s crushing him. And I don’t understand _why_ he won’t let us help!”

“He’s scared.”

Donnie blinks at Mikey, who lets out a sigh.

“ _Dude_ ,” he says. “He’s pulling that act because he doesn’t want the rest of us to get hurt. Come on, D, do you really think Leo doesn’t trust us?”

Donnie deflates. “Well - no,” he admits. “But he’s not communicating with us. He’s just pushing us away. We need him to lead and he’s not.”

Mikey’s quiet for a moment, looking thoughtful. Then he says, “I think Leo doesn’t want us to see he’s burning out, you know? I mean, he lost Splinter, too, and I just think he doesn’t want to lose the rest of us.”

Mikey’s right. Donnie knows he’s right, but he doesn’t want to let Leo off that easy.

“He’s being an asshole,” he says flatly.

“I know,” Mikey says.

Donnie wasn’t finished. “I just want him to let us help him. Why _won’t_ he? We’re were there for all of that too! He’s not alone in this! He hasn’t lost us yet.”

“I know.”

“I hate this.”

“I know.”

Donnie lifts his eyes to look at Mikey. “Is that all you’re gonna say?”

Mikey shrugs. “You were on a roll.”

Donnie snorts, a familiar rush of fondness filling him. “You’re ridiculous.”

“I know,” Mikey says, giving Donnie a cheeky grin.

“You’re interrupting my work,” Donnie says, turning back to his notes.

“What’re you doing?” Mikey asks, leaning forward, reading the words upside down. His face scrunches in confusion.

Donnie isn’t sure telling anyone just yet is a good idea, but it’s _Mikey_. He sighs and says, “Karai.”

Mikey’s face clears instantly. “Retromutagen?”

“I think I’ve figured something out,” Donnie says, pulling the notebook of ideas and equations and thoughts he’d had while on the ship, feeling a familiar pang of grief for the professor before shoving that down as far as it can go. “I don’t exactly have a grasp on the concept yet, but _something’s_ there.”

“If anybody can figure it out, it’s you,” Mikey says, and his tone is so confident that Donnie can only stare at him for a moment. He swallows hard.

“I’m trying,” he says, and it comes out a lot more self-deprecating than he’d been aiming for.

“Come on, D, you got this,” Mikey says, his expression earnest.

Mikey’s always had this absolute faith in his brothers, and sometimes it’s overwhelming. It’s unshakeable, even after all they’ve been through. Donnie doesn’t know how Mikey does it, but he’s grateful.

“Yeah,” he finally says. He’s still restless and angry, but the hole he’s been feeling inside of him since they’d landed is starting to shrink. He’s not sure it’ll ever disappear entirely, but maybe it’ll be manageable.

“You hungry?” Mikey asks, pushing himself up to his feet. “I’m thinking about making some ramen.”

“Yeah,” Donnie says. “Thanks. For -,” he gestures at the lab, hoping it conveys what he’s thinking.

Mikey gives him a blinding grin, and then heads out the door. Donnie turns back to his work, but it’s hard to concentrate on the numbers and formulas. He drags a hand down his face and stands to follow Mikey. He’ll eat and then revisit it. He just needs a short break. And maybe some caffeine.

He falls asleep before he’s done eating and for the first time since they’d gotten back, he sleeps through the night.


End file.
